This is of critical importance as levels of threat, hostility, and intimidation of politicians and those who work in politics are at an all-time high. This has implications for the wellbeing of the people who work in the political space. But it is also important because of the implications it has for political decision-making. Research tells us that when threatened our nervous system responds in a way that tries to ensure our survival. This is true for threats to both our physical and psychological safety. During such times our ability to remain calm, grounded, and reflective diminishes and our attention narrows, we become hyper focused on the threat and how to respond to it. Additionally, feeling threatened can inhibit our motivation to extend and receive compassion. Such psychological processes are inconsistent with good decision-making on complex matters which often requires reflection, the weighing up of numerous competing factors, and logical, considered, consequential thinking. This can only be achieved in the absence of threat. We believe that compassion and civility are the antidotes to these problems.

The concept of civility has been studied by researchers and has been associated with a number of benefits. It has been found that civil people tend to be perceived as warm and competent. People were more trusting of civil individuals and were more likely to share information and seek advice from them. This was due to civil people feeling more psychologically safe than uncivil individuals. Civil people inspired others to work harder and were able to establish larger and broader networks. Generally, people were more supportive of civil people and wanted to see them do well. Civility was described as being helpful for bringing out the best in others. In terms of leadership, respect was the leader behaviour that had the single most powerful effect on employees. Those who felt respected by their leader reported better health and wellbeing, more trust and safety, greater work enjoyment and satisfaction, greater focus and prioritisation, and more meaning and significance. Civil leaders were more likely to be perceived as supportive by their teams. As well as this, there are benefits to individuals who enact civility. For instance, research indicates that the more individuals are perceived as civil by others, the better they perform in their job roles.

Politicians who have committed to the civility pledge and have adopted the principles report lower levels of animosity in political exchanges and a shift of emphasis from personal attacks to consideration of substantive matters. We firmly believe that if the majority of those within the political space (elected representatives at all levels, party members, party workers) committed to this pledge it is likely that a greater sense of psychological safety would be experienced by our politicians through reduced exposure to threat and hostility. 

References

Gilbert, P. (2009). The compassionate mind. Robinson.

Porath, C. L., & Gerbasi, A. (2015). Does civility pay. Organizational Dynamics, 44(4), 281-286. 

Porath, C. L., Gerbasi, A., & Schorch, S. L. (2015). The effects of civility on advice, leadership, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(5), 1527–1541.

Porges, S. W. (2022). Polyvagal theory: A science of safety. Frontiers in integrative neuroscience, 16, 871227.

For further information or details about our Civility Training, please contact: [email protected]